NEEDHAM, Mass., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PTC , the product development company(TM), today defined the emerging role of chief product officer (CPO) in the corporate organizational structure and emphasized the essential role the CPO needs to have to ensure companies derive maximum value from their product development processes.

Most companies today still operate with responsibilities for product development and product lifecycle management dispersed across leadership positions in engineering, marketing, procurement and more. According to PTC research on the roles and practices of chief product officers around the world, fewer than three percent of the top 500 global manufacturing companies have designated a Chief Product Officer to lead their product development and product lifecycle management (PLM) initiatives. The impact of that can be seen in a recent Booz Allen study which reported that out of every 100 product development projects, 63 are cancelled, 12 fail -- and only 25 are commercially successful.

"CPOs are to products what chief financial officers are to finance or chief information officers are to information infrastructure," states C. Richard Harrison, PTC president and chief executive officer. "CPOs must be visionaries and evangelists as well as a superb leaders and managers. The responsibilities span product vision and strategy, product design and development, and product marketing and management. CPOs must also exert strong influence on manufacturing, procurement and distribution. They need to oversee virtually every element of how products are produced, brought to market and serviced," Harrison notes. "CPOs are the general contractors in the building of great products that produce sustainable value, in revenue and profits for their companies.

"Since he joined PTC in 1998, that is precisely the role that Jim Heppelmann, our executive vice president of Software Solutions and chief technical officer, has played at PTC. Through his leadership and example, he has forged and defined the essence of what an effective CPO must be," Harrison continues. "I'm happy to formalize Jim's expanded role with the new title, chief product officer of PTC.

"Jim has and will continue to make sure that PTC is constantly focused on what matters most - our products and the benefits they provide to our customers worldwide. As product lifecycle management transforms the way companies create products and do business, Jim, as CPO and EVP of Software Solutions, will make sure that our product strategy supports the evolving need of our customers. I encourage other companies who believe in the value of products to make the same executive-level commitment."

As chief product officer, Heppelmann, 38, is responsible for PTC's overall product direction and coordination, working with all operational areas within the company to ensure that PTC products continue to lead the industry in quality and functionality.

"Elevating oversight of products and product development to the "C" level is becoming an imperative in industry, given the increasing complexity of the product development process and product lifecycle management," Heppelmann notes. "Today, product lifecycle management is easily as complex as financial or operational management, clearly requiring the full attention of a chief product officer."

About PTC

PTC (NASDAQ:
PMTC) develops, markets, and supports software solutions that help manufacturers win with superior products. PTC is the world's largest software company with a total commitment to product development. The company services more than 33,000 customers worldwide. Further information on PTC is available at http://www.ptc.com or call 1-888-782-3776, ext. 901

Except for the historical information contained herein, matters discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These include: the success of our initiatives to facilitate our customer's understanding of the benefits of our PLM solutions, including return on investment and value creation; the success of our partnering, distribution and customer satisfaction initiatives; the success of our Windchill integrated solutions strategy initiatives and our efforts to successfully compete in the MCAD industry by differentiating our MCAD offerings by targeting synergies with Windchill; as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in reports filed by PTC with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.

PTC and its logo, Product First, The Product Development Company, Simple Powerful Connected, Product Development Means Business, Create Collaborate Control, Pro/ENGINEER, Windchill, and all PTC product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.